Bishkek (AKIpress) - Burger King is in talks to combine with Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons in a deal that would create a fast food powerhouse with a market capitalization of roughly $18 billion, Bloomberg reports.

The companies confirmed merger discussions late on Sunday, and said the new company would be the world's third-largest quick service restaurant. It would be based in Canada, which has lower overall corporate taxes than the United States.

The proposed deal would be structured as a so-called tax inversion transaction to move Burger King's domicile out of the United States, and could come as soon as in the next few days, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Recent attempts by companies for tax inversion deals, which are made to avoid higher U.S. taxes and save money on foreign earnings and cash held outside the United States, have drawn the attention of President Barack Obama, who criticized a "herd mentality" by companies seeking such deals.